Courses Master Display 2017-2018

Course Description To PDF
Course title Human Behaviour and Economic Policy
Course code EBC4202
ECTS credits 6,5
Assessment None
Period
Period Start End Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri
1 4-9-2017 27-10-2017 X X
4 5-2-2018 6-4-2018 X X
Level Advanced
Coordinator Christina Rott
For more information: c.rott@maastrichtuniversity.nl
Language of instruction English
Goals
Participants learn about boundedly rational aspects of human behaviour which play a key role in predicting and designing individual and strategic decisions as well as aggregate outcomes in markets and politics. Further they learn to apply the insights generated by a boundedly rational approach to various fields in Public Economics, Competition Policy, and Managerial Economics, among others. Students learn to use statistics and econometrics to assess the validity of theoretical predictions of human behaviour.
Description
This course will cover recent behavioural models of intertemporal decision-making, decisions under risk and uncertainty, and social decision-making. We will discuss recently developed models taking the boundedly rational nature of human decisions into account. The course uses theoretical reasoning, experimental data, and econometric analysis, which will guide the analysis of applied questions from diverse fields. The fields of application may comprise savings and retirement decisions, health insurance, public good provision and environmental issues, charity giving, taxation, cartel formation, whistle blowing, incentives and promotion schemes in firms, among others. An important part of the course will be devoted to discussions of policy implications, policy recommendations, and the need or curse of government intervention. 1 meeting will be devoted to discussions with guests from institutions responsible for implementing and/or evaluating policies in practice (e.g. the Ministry of Finance or regulation authorities). 1-2 meetings will be devoted to discussions of relevant empirical techniques.

Literature
Prerequisites
Advanced Microeconomics (EBC4201) or
Theory of Individual and Strategic Decisions (EBC4197)
Teaching methods (indicative; course manual is definitive) PBL / Presentation / Lecture / Groupwork
Assessment methods (indicative; course manual is definitive) Final Paper / Attendance / Participation
Evaluation in previous academic year For the complete evaluation of this course please click "here"
This course belongs to the following programmes / specialisations
Master Economics Competition & Regulation
Master Economics Electives
Master Economics Managerial Economics
Master Economics Public Economics
Master Human Decision Science Electives
SBE Exchange Master Master Exchange Courses
SBE Non Degree Courses Master Courses